A Model (Citizen) Fundraising Partnership

The Model Citizen Fund partners with the Karma Foundation to help the needy.

At age 23, Dan Fleyshman became the youngest owner of a publicly traded company after selling $15 million of clothing to retail stores and securing a $9.5 million licensing deal with Starter Apparel. An avid philanthropist, Fleyshman supported two dozen charities before ultimately founding the Model Citizen Fund, a nonprofit that provides backpacks with more than 100 items to underprivileged people around the world.

Recently, Fleyshman teamed up with the Karma Foundation, a philanthropic, members-only networking group, to raise money and provide more survival packs for the homeless. More than $25,000 has been raised so far through the partnership through a variety of fundraising tactics.

Fleyshman and Marvin Epstein, executive VP of the Karma Foundation, recently spoke with FundRaising Success about their organizations and their fundraising partnership. Here is part of the interview with Fleyshman. Look for the complete interviews with Fleyshman and Epstein in Today in Fundraising.

FundRaising Success: How did your partnership with the Karma Foundation form?

Dan Fleyshman: I was originally introduced to Karma Foundation by one of their partners, Marvin Epstein. Through Marvin, I quickly learned what Karma was all about — successful entrepreneurs and executives who are a community of people looking to enhance their lives and their network, all while being able to benefit and support remarkable causes.

As soon as I heard about Karma, I was immediately interested. I've been an entrepreneur since I was a teenager … Business strategy was always on my mind …

By becoming a Karma member, I could network and share my story with people who are as passionate and interested in entrepreneurialism as I am. I see Karma as an all-encompassing community, where the benefits for a member are endless, and decided to inquire about how they could help Model Citizen Fund. Once I applied for a charity sponsorship, I entered a screening process like all of the charities do, and after many sit-downs and one-on-one strategy sessions, Model Citizen Fund was named one of the beneficiaries of an elite Karma event.

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